Chapter Text
He didn't wanna go. That was clear. But Tina was right. He needed to get out of the house. His breakup with Kurt had not been easy on him. Kurt was his soulmate. His one true love. Kurt and Blaine forever, right? Well, no. It didn't go as he had wanted it to go, even though he and Kurt stayed friends, they didn't live the life Blaine had wanted all those years ago. But that's how it goes. You break up with the one you thought you'd be together with for forever, you cry, you break down, and you move on. That last step had been a problem for Blaine. Even months after the breakup, he'd still hardly left the house, only when was necessary. Like school, but even his Dalton buddies couldn't cheer him up, which was saying something.
But today his best friend Tina Cohen Chang had barged into his house, yes, she had a key, and basically forced him to go Christmas shopping and be her "plus one" at some guy's Christmas party. It was her boyfriend Mike's best friend. Since Tina and Mike were starting to get pretty serious and since both of their best friends were home alone on Christmas, they took the opportunity. The guy's name was Sam, he also, like Tina and Mike, went to McKinley. That was about everything Blaine knew about the boy. That, and that he lived away from his family, so he lived with another family, which was just a single mother and a son. Tom or Finn or something he thought he'd heard Tina say once. This Sam person was a jock like Mike. Probably one of those body obsessed muscle-head douchebags. And on top of all that, he was even in charge of picking a present.
"Of course we need to get Sam a present, we're the guests! And besides, it's Christmas!" He still heard Tina's voice echo through his mind as he looked for a suitable present for the Sam, as Blaine referred to the boy now. The mall was already crowded. Wham!'s 'Last Christmas' filled the air. Great. Just what he needed. Before the breakup with Kurt, he used to always give his boyfriend and anyone for that matter, the perfect gifts. It had sort of become an obsession of his to find perfect gifts for everyone. But of course, he didn't know Sam, what he was like, what he was interested in. After searching for half an hour, he saw the clock on the square, it was almost time for the party. He saw a small shop on the side end of the mall and decided to ask the store clerk for help. Tapping on a guy in uniform's shoulder, the guy turned around and didn't seem older nor younger than Blaine himself. He was also incredibly attractive.
"Can I help you with something?"
You could show my lips the way to your mouth
"Yeaaah, I'm going to a party but I don't know the guy that's throwing it, how do I figure out what to get him."
He boy smiled back at him and gave a light chuckle. "Must be a wild party, huh?" Blaine just laughed softly and looked down. Moving on, the store clerk replied. "Just go with the one thing you do know about the person, one thing they like. Try to make it personal,"
"What if the person is an ass?"
He laughed. "Then get him toilet paper."
Blaine laughed too now, which he realized he hadn't done since the breakup. That was a little weird to him but he didn't show to the store clerk, who was apparently the only person to make him laugh. He definitely wasn't ugly. Beautiful green eyes and blond hair that covered a part of his forehead. He was a bit taller than Blaine, though not too much. The last thing Blaine noticed were the boy's lips, which-
No. He couldn't think about that. The guy was most probably straight, he looked straight. And Blaine wasn't ready to get his heart broken again.
The two talked for a bit and made some jokes until Blaine looked at his watch and saw he was really late now. And he was never late. Almost never. "Oh shit I have to go", Blaine said. At least he'd figured out a present, so his duty had been for filled.
The boy looked at Blaine. "Alri-"
But Blaine was already off. Running through the mall. Tina was going to be furious. He was halfway to the mall when guilt struck him. He had left the store clerk all alone. That shouldn't be a big deal, but he should at least thank him for making him laugh. And maybe ask his number. It occurred to him right there that he didn't even know his name.
As fast as his legs could carry him, Blaine ran back to the store. Maybe he was ready to put himself on the market again, maybe this was the right guy for him. Or maybe he just met the guy and he was freaking out because it was the first guy to really be nice to him since he and Kurt broke up. Even so, he was gonna try this. Ask his name number, and maybe if he'd like to go out sometime.
Arriving out of breath and full of nerve, he walked around the shop. The pretty blond was nowhere to be found. He kept searching and eventually asked another employee, who said the guy he was looking for went home for the holidays. He had somewhere to be. Great. He missed his chance. He was too late, also for that dinner. Defeated, he rushed home.